Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India] August 28 : Sai, a Myanmar artist and curator who left Thailand following pressure from Chinese authorities to remove the works of Tibetan and other exiled artists from an exhibition in Bangkok, expressed that he feels "not safe at all" even after moving to the UK, describing the situation as an "unprecedented act of transnational repression", as reported by Phayul.
Sai co-curated the exhibition Constellation of Complicity: Visualising the Global Machinery of Authoritarian Solidarity at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), featuring ten artists and examining state violence, authoritarian partnerships, and grassroots resistance.
Just days after its opening on July 24, he mentioned that personnel from the Chinese embassy insisted on the removal of works by Tibetan, Uyghur, and Hong Kong artists, according to a report from Phayul.
On 27 July, three days after the exhibition's launch, Chinese diplomats, accompanied by officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), visited the BACC and insisted on its closure.
"While we were on our way to our hosts [in the UK], we received phone messages indicating that three diplomats from the Chinese embassy, along with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration officials, arrived at the BACC," Sai recounted. "The Chinese diplomats demanded the exhibition be shut down, and BACC engaged in discussions with them," as per the Phayul report.
He stated that staff from the BACC later informed him that the embassy requested the removal of names of Tibetan, Uyghur, and Hong Kong artists, threatening that relations between China and Thailand would deteriorate if the centre did not comply.
During the subsequent week, the BACC, following orders from Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the BMA, altered or removed several artworks.
These included the short film Listen to Indigenous People by Tibetan artist Tenzin Mingyur Paldron, a Tibetan flag, and other pieces addressing China's policies in Tibet. Labels were stripped of terms like "Tibet," "Hong Kong," and "Uyghur," and names of several artists were obscured.
Other flagged works deemed "problematic" encompassed performances by Uyghur artist Mukaddas Mijit and pieces by Hong Kong artists Clara Cheung and Gum Cheng Yee Man. According to Sai, Chinese diplomats returned multiple times, reportedly demanding further alterations and the removal of additional content critical of Beijing, as noted by Phayul.
Human rights organisations condemned the actions of Beijing. "This intimidation demonstrates a coordinated effort to suppress artistic expression worldwide," stated Roberto Gonzalez from the Human Rights Foundation. "For the Chinese Communist Party to extend its censorship beyond its own borders reveals their deep-seated fear of artists exposing the truths they wish to hide," as cited in the Phayul report.